Mathura court orders survey of Shahi Idgah mosque after January 2

LUCKNOW: A local court of Civil Judge (Senior Division-3) of Mathura on Friday ordered the Amin survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque adjacent to "Krishna Janmabhoomi", the birthplace of Lord Krishna, after January 2. The civil judge (senior division-3) Sonika Verma court posted the matter for next hearing on January 20 when the survey report would be submitted in the court.

This is the second such order after a Varanasi court had ordered a survey of the Gyanvapi mosque, adjacent to Kashi Vishwanath temple, by a court-mandated commission headed by a senior advocate in May, this year.

The Mathura court passed the order for the survey on a petition filed by Vishnu Gupta of Hindu Sena. He claimed that the survey would be similar to the one in Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque, where a purported "Shivling" was found in the ablution pond of Gyanvapi mosque during a survey.

The lawsuit is one among multiple such petitions filed by Hindu outfits demanding the removal of 17th century Shahi Idgah Masjid from the Katra Keshav Dev temple, claiming the mosque was built on the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

Petitioner Vishnu Gupta claimed in his plea that the Shahi Idgah mosque was built at the Krishna Janmabhoomi on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 1669-70 in the 13.37-acre premises of Katra Keshav Dev temple. Shailesh Dubey, the lawyer representing plaintiff Vishnu Gupta, said that his Delhi-based client Vishnu Gupta, Hindu Sena chief along with the organisation’s vice-president Surjit Singh Yadav, had made this claim in the court on December 8.

Dubey claimed that the plaintiff had presented the entire history from the birth of Lord Krishna till the construction of the temple before the court. He said that Gupta had also demanded the cancellation of the agreement between Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sangh vs Shahi Idgah in the year 1968, calling it illegal.

The Mathura civil court had earlier dismissed the case saying it could not be admitted under the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship except Ayodhya as it was on August 15, 1947. The Mathura court had earlier dismissed the Krishna Janmabhoomi suit, saying if it was registered, many more petitioners would approach the court with various lawsuits. Petitioners had then appealed against the order.

The petitioners argued in their suit that as devotees of Lord Krishna, they have a right to approach the court. They say they have the right to worship at the actual birthplace of Lord Krishna.